Quite tasty American Brown Ale, as the brewer calls it. It has just a dose of the butternut flavor of some of the WInter Warmers. Woody and full of roasted malt. A little caramel taste with a darker finish. Slight bitter edge but not very hoppy taste.

Pleasant and easy to drink brew that has some interesting dark notes. From the 22 oz bottle purchased at Haggen's Market in Burlington.

T/MF: In the mouth, it's more of the same tree-like hop notes. Like walking into a forest and shoving bits of the trees into my mouth. There's some more fruity notes, but they're hard to nail down against all the hops. Not quite an aggressive IPA, but still too hoppy for my tastes.

I am drinking this on tap at The Running Y in Klamath Falls, OR. It poured red/copper. Other reviews lend towards brown but I just don't see that. The head was nice and creamy but didn't stick around long. Nice malt backbone that is balanced by the hop bitterness which lingers after the swallow. All in a ll a very nice beer. As seasonals can be all over the place I would put this more towards an amber or Red as a standard to compare against.

Nice dark pour. Not black, but a deep, deep brown with some ruby notes. No light comes through, but you can see it's somewhat clear. The white head contrasts well against the darkness below. A creamy head forms, though it's not huge nor does it retain well.

A welcome change from all the spicy beers I've had of late. There's still some spices in this, but they play supporting roles to the chocolate, caramel, and vanilla scents from the malt.

Somewhat bland taste, I should have guessed from the clarity of the beer. Roasted grains up front followed by bitter hops at the back. Nothing really special about it. Little in the way of spices on the tongue, not sure why this is called a winter warmer because nothing distinguishes it from other year-round beers.

Moderate complexity with a sweet feel early on. A grainy feels separates the sweet intro to the lingering bitter finish. Despite the grainy feel, it's a bit light and loose. Very noticeable bitter swallow that really sticks to the tongue.

Overall, it's easy to drink because there's little flavor other than the bittering hops. Most scents didn't carry over to the taste. ABV is fairly low at 6.8% (for a winter warmer). Not bad, just not much great about it.

The Ill-Tempered Gnome is a great seasonal ale by Oakshire. It pours a nice thick looking brown and a good beige colored head that leaves a good amount of residue on the glass. The smell is malty sweet with hints of coffee, chocolate and nuttiness. The flavor is slightly sweet with chocolate and caramel. The finish has a nice bittering that lasts well after the last sip. Mouthfeel was medium to slightly watery. Overall its a very nicely balanced beer. Oakshire does a really nice job and has some great beers. I always look forward to their seasonal beers.